I bought a cargo trailer

[Whit30]

The brand is Homesteader, made in TN. It’s a 7x14 dual axle with the rounded roof, 6’3” interior ht, and a drop down rear door. I went ahead and got radial tires for it. I’m pulling it with a 2WD ext cab 2004 Chevy Silverado which is plenty of muscle. 
 I have a friend with an RV rehab business that’s completing the following for me.
1. Wiring. Fantastic Fan ,12v lights and outlets, 30 amp shore power. 2 -100AH wet cell Interstate deep cycle batteries will be mounted on the tongue inside a locking vented diamond plate box.
2. Insulation. R6 walls(1” rigid foam), R9 ceiling (1 1/2”).
3. stabilizer jacks and spare tire mount. 
4. 3 -20x30 windows.
5. 1/4” Luan walls and ceiling.

As soon as he’s finished I’ll start on a countertop for the kitchen area and beds. For beds/couch for me and the wife I plan on a twin sized daybed with a trundle. I plan to install a hand pumped sink and will use a regular camp stove and a Mr Buddy for heat. I’ll get a small window AC for when I have shore power, should be able to find one that will go in and out of one of the windows. I plan to do a makeshift shower with a cattle trough, shower curtain, and a hand pumped sprayer. I’ll probably add some solar at some point but it will most likely be portable panels rather than roof mounted.

I also have a little Yamaha 50cc scooter that should also transport easily inside.

My goal is to give it a test run in Feb or March for 2-3 weeks down in Florida, then head out west for at least a month in May or June.

Don’t have any pics but I’ll post some in a couple of weeks when I get it out of the shop.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Cool!

It's a blank slate, all kinds of ways to personalize it for your liking.

Do you have a topper for the pickup bed?

 

[Whit30]

Cool!

It's a blank slate, all kinds of ways to personalize it for your liking.

Do you have a topper for the pickup bed?

Yes. I got that about a year ago.  ARE fiberglass shell with some racks on top for my canoe and kayak. Solo it’s fine as is. But I needed a bit more for the better half.

 

[tx2sturgis]

That gives you more room to toss supplies and equipment, leaving the trailer with a lot less clutter.

 

[Whit30]

Making progress! These pics are from about a week ago.
I should get her back by the end of the week to start countertops and sleeping arrangements.
’

 

[highdesertranger]

Congrats, can't wait for a build thread. highdesertranger

 

[Whit30]

Thought Id update this thread as its been a while. All Ive done is apply poly to the walls and ceiling.

Unfortunately, I totaled the Silverado soon after insulating and wiring the trailer.

I wound up replacing it with a brand new Toyota 4 Runner, 4wd, to satisfy the wife, whom I let talk me out of a V8 pickup or van. Problem is my tow rating decreased to 5000lb. The 7x14 dual axle trailer is right at 2000# with insl. and batteries. Ive been brainstorming to go light as possible with the build out. If I sold the trailer and downsized Id never come close to getting my money out of it, mainly due to the paid labor I have in it for windows, insl, and wiring.

So the beds will be Coleman cots with upgraded mattresses. I'm going with a simple l shaped 6'x 18" shelf in the front drivers side corner for cooking and so forth. Cabinets will have to be plastic. I'm thinking of adding some wire closet shelves in strategic places.
Hopefully I can keep things at or under 3500lb. fully loaded. With my electric brakes I should be ok for most places, but I'm thinking I'll need to add a transmission cooler if I go out west to the rockies. My stock mirrors are pretty wide, with some stick on panoramic mirrors added I can see around well enough. The 4 Runner is equipped with a backup camera as well.

 

[ben2go]

Now it's time for a haul truck.

 

[DannyB1954]

I have considered using those thin interior wall studs they sell in hardware stores to do a light build. The studs normally attach with screws but you can also use steel pop rivets, (I think aluminum rivets would stretch and get loose). I was going to use what are called Tinner rivets. You can learn how to use those on youtube You can do Tinner rivets with just a hammer and a backing bar of some kind. You can then skin the box with thin door skin material. Here is a video on steel stud framing In the video you will see them using a crimping tool. This is a fast way, but I think screw or rivet would be better.

Cabinets, beds, storage boxes can all be done with this stuff. The track and studs sell for about a buck a foot, but it is strong and light. It cuts easy with a set of tin snips.

 

[Canine]

My 6X12 aluminum, dual axle, v-nose trailer was 1400 pounds with no plywood on the walls and completely empty. Now it is 3500 pounds wet and fully loaded. 440 pounds of batteries, 20 gallons of water, and 3 twenty pound propane tanks. Was towing with a 99 Dodge with a 5.2 (318) automatic. Now am towing with a 96 Dodge with a 5.9 gas motor (360) automatic and am so much happier with the larger engine. You aren't putting as much insulation and plywood as I did, but it seems to me you would need a svelt build to keep it at 3500. When you do the build, think light thoughts. You may think, "Oh, it's only a couple of pounds heavier- that won't make much of a difference." Keep doing that and it adds up quick! 3500 is doable, but I bet you'll find it will be sooo easy to go over that. You may want to use inflatable furniture filled with helium.

Look forward to the build.

 

[Whit30]

Yea, my insulation and interior walls prob weigh less than 100#.
Im gonna use 2 cots for beds. The only built in will be a 5' or so countertop with a cabinet underneath just large enough to house my fusebox, solar controller, and inverter. Any more cabinets, if any, will be plastic. Im gonna run two 12" wire closet shelves up high down each sidewall,high enough not to bump my head on. I can bungee things like tarps and bedding, even clothes up there, and even hang things from them. Ill install them with the lip turned up instead of down, to help hold items in place, and avoid bumping a scalp on them. They should be a good deal lighter than wooden cabinets. Ive got 2 batteries in a box on the tongue. I will need to add a spare tire, and plan to put 2 or 4 solar panels on the roof. I figure 15 gal of water give or take will get me by most of the time. Bathing will take place outside in a privacy tent. For now toilet will be a simple 5 gal bucket set up, I may spring for a composting someday. I don't expect to boondock for long periods of time because my wife will want the luxuries of a campground with electricity and hot showers a lot of the time.

 

[Canine]

Our builds are similar. I'm using that adjustable wire shelving and it works great!! Got it from shelving dot com. The website also has shelf dividers that work on the Closet Maid shelving with the wide spacing. I love the dividers. There are also other accessories. The shelf on the other side is 9 feet long (from a 12 foot piece) and is turned upside down as well. Have been on some rough roads and have had zero problems with the bungi cords holding the totes in. I used inexpensive, stamped, metal shelf brackets to secure the shelf instead of the Closet Maid rail. Looks very good. My budget had enough money for a nice composting toilet, but the bucket toilet has worked so well so far, I can't justify getting a composting toilet. The bucket works so well. Not an inconvenience at all. Takes up less room, too.

With my 570 watts of solar (soon to be upgraded to 825 watts. grunt-grunt-grunt) I have electrically heated water for my hot showers and still have tons of power to spare. I'm the only person I've met first hand that is able to do that. I'm literally my own RV park with my own hook ups- I can go anywhere there is sun and have that. I don't need dump stations. I don't have AC, but am installing that next year. No generator just solar.

 

[Whit30]

Our builds are similar. I'm using that adjustable wire shelving and it works great!! Got it from shelving dot com. The website also has shelf dividers that work on the Closet Maid shelving with the wide spacing. I love the dividers. There are also other accessories. The shelf on the other side is 9 feet long (from a 12 foot piece) and is turned upside down as well. Have been on some rough roads and have had zero problems with the bungi cords holding the totes in. I used inexpensive, stamped, metal shelf brackets to secure the shelf instead of the Closet Maid rail. Looks very good. My budget had enough money for a nice composting toilet, but the bucket toilet has worked so well so far, I can't justify getting a composting toilet. The bucket works so well. Not an inconvenience at all. Takes up less room, too.

With my 570 watts of solar (soon to be upgraded to 825 watts. grunt-grunt-grunt) I have electrically heated water for my hot showers and still have tons of power to spare. I'm the only person I've met first hand that is able to do that. I'm literally my own RV park with my own hook ups- I can go anywhere there is sun and have that. I don't need dump stations. I don't have AC, but am installing that next year. No generator just solar.
----------------------
Im planning on a 400w Renology kit.
 I have a quick question for you.
My batteries for the time being are 2 100AH plain old wet cell Interstates on the tongue. They charge from shore power when connected, or from the vehicle when towing.
Will I need some kind of switch  or can I hook them straight to the battery and not worry about overcharging when going down the road?

 

[Canine]

To take care of FLA batteries in the best way possible one should use a high end charge controller (for use with solar or wind) that will have 4 stages of charging: Bulk, Acceptance, Float, and Equalization. The charging parameters for each stage should be adjustable according to the battery manufacturer's specs. Also, use a temperature sensor attached directly to the battery. That $30 sensor will save you way more money in batteries. I can't think of an example where not using a temp sensor on an FLA would be acceptable.

If you take care of your batteries, they will take care of you. My AGM's (AGM's are fussy and they need to be babied) are 1 month away from being 7 years old and still going strong. Not as strong as brand new, but still pretty strong. That is saying something.

To answer your question, you should use a solenoid switch and not simply hook them up straight to your vehicle. How charging your trailer batteries from your vehicle is specifically done overall, I don't want to say as I haven't learned how to do it. I'm a solar guy through and through, but I don't live in Alaska or Oregon either.

 

[highdesertranger]

like Canine said you need a solenoid on the charge that comes from the vehicle. however you can have both the vehicle and the solar charging at the same time. nothing special needed. highdesertranger

 

[Whit30]

like Canine said you need a solenoid on the charge that comes from the vehicle.  however you can have both the vehicle and the solar charging at the same time. nothing special needed. highdesertranger

I'm pretty surety the solenoid has been done. I will confirm with my wiring guy to make sure. He told me there was no danger of draining the batteries while parked. 
He installed a fancy RV  box which houses an extensive 12v panel and the 120v panel for the 30amp shore power. I have no idea what other functions it does or does not do.
My friend who wired it has an RV restoration business. He's never done solar(we're in Alabama) but wants to learn. I showed him the top of the line Renology 400w kit on Amazon (around $1000 for their best controller and their newer lighter and thinner panels). He looked at the installation diagram and said it seemed simple enough. Im sure we are gonna run into questions though.

 

[Whit30]

heres the 2 kits i am considering.
is the more expensive one worth the money?

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monoc...68509&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=renology+400w+kit

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTH7XQ...Ag&pd_rd_r=4T8MN65DWDA4TM1EAK0B&pd_rd_w=Rmvar

 

[Canine]

I didn't compare both packages too closely as that would take some time. The second one uses an MPPT controller, which is better than a PWM controller. For the price difference, I suspect the panels are more efficient, therefore, smaller. Same watts in a smaller package. That may work better for the amount of real estate you have. PWM controllers are quite a bit cheaper, so if your funds are limited, go with a PWM as long as you hook them up in parallel. 4 panels for one wire is a bit much, though. I would go with 2 panels per one wire. Then go with two controllers. You can always upgrade to MPPT later. To truly answer your question, it would take a lot of discussion and time to figure out what would work best for you. You may want to talk with Renogy first hand. I'm not sure if their customer service is good, but solar people tend to enjoy what they do- a lot. It's not just a job for most of them.

Almost a third of the cost of my brand new trailer ($15,000) was solar. Was that worth it? YES! For the vast majority of people, no. It's not cheap. And not everyone has as much real estate on their roof as I do.

The AltE Store has some great prices and they fairly regularly have modest sales on top of their already good prices. They seem to be pretty knowledgeable, too. They also have quite a few videos on YouTube. I've found their vids more helpful than most.

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

The brand is Homesteader, made in TN. It’s a 7x14 dual axle with the rounded roof, 6’3” interior ht, and a drop down rear door. I went ahead and got radial tires for it. I’m pulling it with a 2WD ext cab 2004 Chevy Silverado which is plenty of muscle. 
 I have a friend with an RV rehab business that’s completing the following for me.
1. Wiring. Fantastic Fan ,12v lights and outlets, 30 amp shore power. 2 -100AH wet cell Interstate deep cycle batteries will be mounted on the tongue inside a locking vented diamond plate box.
2. Insulation. R6 walls(1” rigid foam), R9 ceiling (1 1/2”).
3. stabilizer jacks and spare tire mount. 
4. 3 -20x30 windows.
5. 1/4” Luan walls and ceiling.

As soon as he’s finished I’ll start on a countertop for the kitchen area and beds. For beds/couch for me and the wife I plan on a twin sized daybed with a trundle. I plan to install a hand pumped sink and will use a regular camp stove and a Mr Buddy for heat. I’ll get a small window AC for when I have shore power, should be able to find one that will go in and out of one of the windows. I plan to do a makeshift shower with a cattle trough, shower curtain, and a hand pumped sprayer. I’ll probably add some solar at some point but it will most likely be portable panels rather than roof mounted.

I also have a little Yamaha 50cc scooter that should also transport easily inside.

My goal is to give it a test run in Feb or March for 2-3 weeks down in Florida, then head out west for at least a month in May or June.

Don’t have any pics but I’ll post some in a couple of weeks when I get it out of the shop.

Sounds great!  We bought ours in April and still have a ways to go with it but work on it constantly.  Here in Colorado we've had a LOT of rain (everyday over a month almost) and sometimes I have to put a cover over the back just so I can work.

 

[Canine]

Christine, where are you at in Colorado that is getting so much rain? I'm in North Central Colorado about 40 miles south of Steamboat Springs and it's been dryer than a popcorn fart here. Stage 2 fire restriction. Fires and smoke everywhere.